Investigators Remind Public Of Heaven LaShae Ross Almost 20 Years After Disappearance

TUSCALOOSA, AL — It's been almost 20 years since 11-year-old Heaven LaShae Ross went missing from Willowbrook Mobile Home Park in Northport.

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Additionally, Monday, June 12, is Shae's birthday, and police are working to keep her memory alive by reminding the public that justice has yet to be served in the cold case.

Captain Jack Kennedy, commander of the Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit, told local media that while there are no new details that can be released, he still encouraged anyone with information to come forward.

As was widely reported, Shae was reported missing on Aug. 19, 2003, which prompted a massive response and search effort by law enforcement and volunteer.

Tuscaloosa News reporter Stephanie Taylor reported at the time that the little girl was last seen walking to the bus stop from her home in the Willowbrook trailer park.

Sadly, it would be on Dec. 18, 2006, that her remains were found in the crawl space of an abandoned house on Creek Road — a dirt road off of 44th Court near Holt. During the search of the house, a backpack with Shae's name on it was also discovered.

"The only question I have now is why? Why would anyone to this to her?" Shae's grandmother Carol Rowell told the Tuscaloosa News after the remains were discovered.

The remains were reportedly found by a man walking his dog, who then notified police. Taylor reported that before moving to the trailer park in Northport, Shae's mother and stepfather had lived in Holt.

In her extensive coverage of the case, Taylor provided a detailed timeline of events, including that both Shae's mother and stepfather passed police-administered polygraph tests, in addition to a fire on Sept. 26, 2003 in Shae's bedroom that was ruled as "suspicious" a little more than a month after the child went missing.

In the months before Shae's remains were discovered, police on Aug. 17, 2006 reportedly linked the disappearance of the little girl with two other abductions from trailer parks. Indeed, these incidents were supposedly two years apart within one week in August.

Rewards offered in the case topped $70,000 in 2006.

"Since that time, law enforcement has worked diligently to find those responsible for the her death," Kennedy said. "The case has never been closed, and remains active with the Violent Crimes Unit."

Those with any information regarding the case are asked to contact the Violent Crimes Unit at (205) 464-8690.

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